Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley
"we sought to strike a balance between it being quite avant-garde but also maintaining a human element that would encourage people to stay in the space."
UK artist Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley works at the intersection of gaming, technology, and archival practice. Here, she reflects on creating THE DELUSION at Serpentine Gallery, the reactions it has sparked, and how her interactive worlds expand the way stories are preserved and shared.
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley's exhibition THE DELUSION is at Serpentine North from 30 September 2025 - 18 January 2026.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
I'm an artist and a tech nerd. I'm very interested in video game history and archiving history. I grew up in London and studied art, but I was originally planning to study physics. Gaming for me is a nice middle ground between the two. My career emerged from having a very good London community and trying to figure out how to archive those voices. A lot of my background has focused on working with different communities to try and figure out how to preserve their voices.
The show, titled “THE DELUSION” at Serpentine, feels both inviting and unsettling, with its draped arcade forms, glowing imagery, and hand-drawn figures. How did you approach creating a space that merges theatre, sculpture, and gaming?
We set out to create a space that, on the one hand felt inundated with references to the current political climate, but on the other also felt comfortable enough for people to open up and have a conversation with a stranger. We began by interviewing a lot of religious figures and activists as well as drawing on elements from my own history that felt grounding such as my grandma’s house. As we continued to build THE DELUSION we sought to strike a balance between it being quite avant-garde but also maintaining a human element that would encourage people to stay in the space.
THE DELUSION, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, 2025. Commissioned and produced by Serpentine Arts Technologies. © Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, photography: Talie Rose Eigeland.
THE DELUSION, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, 2025. Commissioned and produced by Serpentine Arts Technologies. © Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, photography: Talie Rose Eigeland.
THE DELUSION, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, 2025. Commissioned and produced by Serpentine Arts Technologies. © Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, photography: Talie Rose Eigeland.
This project asks visitors to play and communicate inside a divided world. What kinds of reactions or conversations have you seen emerge from people as they move through the work?
It’s been really interesting to see the variety of conversations taking place from people disputing what feminism is today to conversations around war and censorship. I’ve also seen a lot of conversations around people being lonely and anxious and craving a space to open up without judgement. This has been really amazing to see as it was one of our key aims but we weren’t sure whether we’d actually get there. What's been very successful is that everyone comes with their baggage and some people lay out that baggage for us and for themselves which for me is a testament to the entire team and how well THE DELUSION facilitates people opening up.
What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you?
I’ve been reading a graphic novel which is part of 2000 AD and it’s the Nemesis collection. There's a character called Nemesis who is a resistance fighter against a fascist religious oppressive regime. It's been quite interesting visually for as it's extremely detailed.
You’ve described your practice as both “archive and insurgency.” How does the show expand your ongoing work of archiving Black Trans histories, and what role does game design play in preserving and reimagining those narratives?
Previous work on archiving Black Trans and queer histories would involve speaking to people, taking photos of them and creating a world and characters around them which is the technique I’ve used now in creating THE DELUSION. The focus of my practice has shifted but that foundational element of archiving Black Trans people in the story has not. What has shifted is the reason why people are playing and what we want them to get out of the experience. Previously who you were when viewing the archive would determine what you see but now it’s much more about using the world to reflect a mirror of who you are and then giving an opportunity to open up a conversation and seeing if there’s parts of yourself that you feel uncomfortable with. It’s not about feeling judgement but just an opportunity to maybe examine it.
In terms of the role of game design I would say games do archive something in and of themselves. However, it’s not that using a game is necessarily a better method of archiving but it’s a better method for people to access the archive. Typically an archive is passive but via the game it becomes more of a conversation. Depending on how you interact with it and what your aim is, the work will react differently to you. In a way it archives the way of thinking more than a traditional archive would.
THE DELUSION, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, 2025. Commissioned and produced by Serpentine Arts Technologies. © Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, photography: Talie Rose Eigeland.
THE DELUSION, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, 2025. Commissioned and produced by Serpentine Arts Technologies. © Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, photography: Talie Rose Eigeland.
THE DELUSION, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, 2025. Commissioned and produced by Serpentine Arts Technologies. © Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, photography: Talie Rose Eigeland.
Tell us a bit about how you spend your day / studio routine? What is your studio like?
Currently I have a residency at Sybil so I go there in the mornings and begin the day with a drawing. I then spend some time on emails before doing about 5 hours of rendering and 3D modelling. I'm in the early stages of my next project so I usually write a bit of the story and then render a technique and try it out and then write a bit more of a story. I like to split my days between tech work and physical work, as the physical work feels like a nice break to feel a bit more vulnerable and with the tech work I can get lost in the code.
I have a studio at home and a place at Sybil to work which couldn’t be more different. The Sybil studio is very clean and tidy. My home studio is an absolute explosion of mess! Everything is painted on including my rug and the walls are covered with images that I like. It’s funny because when you see a lot of tech work, especially with digital work, there's an element of cleanliness to it as the wires are hidden away and there’s a nice specially designed TV. By contrast, I like to have a space that’s completely messy and then take the mess of things out to make a more logical system to put into the game. My studio is like stepping into my brain.
Is there anything new and exciting in the pipeline you would like to tell us about?
I’m currently working on my first horror film which mixes live action and 3D animation. I'm also working on a mech game that has no screen. In THE DELUSION we’ve seen how screens often draw people away from connecting so I’m now exploring how to create a game with no screen that is still playable. There’s more exciting projects in the pipeline which will be announced soon!
All images courtesy of the artist and Serpentine Gallery
Interview publish date: 20/11/2025
Interview by Richard Starbuck
